Travel Musings of a New Yorker

For Cat Lovers: Cat Cafe Budapest (Budapest, Hungary)

After I’d been traveling for upwards of 12 hours to Budapest (via Istanbul, ugh, again, worst idea ever!) and I’d thrown my stuff down in my hostel, I decided to walk around to get my bearings and see what I could before the sun went down.

After I’d taken about 6,483 photos of the Chain Bridge (I mean, who could blame me, it’s SO pretty lit up!), the sun was officially down and I was tired and starving so I looked up what time Cat Cafe Budapest was open until and they were still open for another hour, so my night was decided for me. It had been over 24 hours since I’d seen my fur monsters, so it was high time for some feline snuggles.

I had no idea if I’d be able to get in or not since in both New York and London cat cafes, reservations are usually required, but I headed over. I walked down a very dimly lit street (sort of creepy? but only maybe because I was by myself in a brand new Eastern European city?) and found my first cat cafe of my trip: Cat Cafe Budapest.

(I will have you know that I made it out without buying a single souvenir.)

As it turns out, no reservations were needed and I sat down right away and ordered a cheese panini (#vegetarianproblems) and began to make my rounds and say hello to the cats. I asked my server if the cats were up for adoption and she said that they were rescues but no, they were all permanent residents of the cafe. There were maybe a dozen other patrons in the cafe, all with their cameras out and ready to take photos of the adorable, friendly cats. I tried to relax as much as possible and not be obsessed with taking photos, but, you know: cats.

If you’re in Budapest and need some cat facetime, check this place out. It’s a block over from Andrassy Street and also from St. Stephen’s Basilica, so it’s really centrally located. You can rest easy knowing that any money you spend will go directly back to taking care of the feline residents.